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King Henry VIII
King Henry VIII Tudor, otherwise known as Henry Tudor, was the eigth Henry of the Tudor dynasty and one of the first Kings of England since the Tudors had taken the throne of England. Henry, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, was obsessed with producing a male heir and would frequently sleep with his maids to try and achieve the birth of a son. This happened twice: once with Elizabeth Blount, although the son died, and once with Jane Seymour. Henry was famous for taking six wives, as well as introducing the Church of England. His obsession with producing a male heir changed the institution of marriage, and the world, forever. For the first twenty years of his reign, Henry remained a benevolent ruler but became more cruel and selfish during his later years. He executed two of his wives for adultery and treason, although only one was guilty. Henry fathered several children with his wives and, sometimes, with his maids, although the child was seldom a son. In fact, Henry's own daughter Elizabeth was the last Tudor to rule England before the dynasty's destruction. Despite taking six wives, Henry evidently favored Jane Seymour for her giving him a son. He requested to be buried with her after her tragic death in 1537. He in fact was buried with her after his own death in 1547. Henry is initially shown in the series to be a young, attractive, seductive and womanizing King although the final season shows Henry growing fat with an ulcerated leg, a far cry from his previous physical beauty. Being King, Henry was usually referred to as "Your Majesty", although Anne Boleyn and Thomas More both called him Henry at one point. At the start of the series Henry declared he and his advisor Wolsey would "be immortal" and in the final episode of the series Henry was shown reflecting on his magnificent and monumentous reign. Henry's six wives, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr all played a part in history for being Henry's consorts. In Henry's mind Jane remained the most significant and he mourned for her, and considered her his "true" wife. Early Life Henry was born to King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York in England, and had many siblings although most had died at birth. He grew up with two sisters and a brother, which were Margaret, Mary and Arthur. After Arthur's death Henry married his wife. He went to the throne of England at 19, in 1509, a reign which would last 37 years. Season One Henry's uncle the English ambassador is murdered by the French. Back at Whitehall Palace, everybody is talking about it and it is very loud. Henry is in his room mourning until he storms out to the throne room, very upset and aggravated. Everyone immediately bows down to their King, who is furious. Henry declares that the French have aggressive tendencies and the murder of his uncle is a just cause for war. Everyone cheers. Henry says Cardinal Wolsey will make all the arrangements. Henry then says, "Now, I can go play," and his courtiers laugh. We see him having sex with Elizabeth Blount, his current mistress. He asks how her husband is when they briefly stop having sex and she says her husband is extremely jealous and threatening to send her to a nunnery. Henry says, "That would be such a waste," and they resume their sexual encounter. While having dinner with his wife Catherine, Henry asks how their daughter Mary is and Catherine tells him Mary is very intelligent and doing well. She tells Henry he should be proud and he says that he is. Later on Henry is getting ready for bed and a man holds out a plate of fruit. Henry eats a pomegranate, and then leaves with his courtiers. It seems he is getting ready for bed. However, he is actually looking for sexual company since Catherine is at church praying. He sees her ladies in waiting and tells the blonde one to tell Catherine that Henry came to offer his love and devotion as her true husband. However, once he leaves a courtier comes and whispers in the girl's ear to go to Henry. The girl comes and sleeps with Henry.